I have about a dozen Google alerts set up for various topics, because I'm interested in a ton of things, but flaky when it comes to remembering what those things are. So, rather than remind myself to search news sites for words like "gorillas", "intoxilyzer", "iphone update", etc - I just add an alert for those terms and let the magic of Google be my outboard memory.

In a neat bit of synchronicity, two of my search terms converged today: "Drug court" and "Matt Jones".

Jones is an NFL wide receiver who was released by the Jacksonville Jaguars this off-season after being arrested for testing positive for alcohol, which violated a plea agreement he'd worked out. He'd previously been charged with felony possession of a controlled substance, gone through the drug court, and was in line to have the charges dismissed upon completion of the program. (I have a Google alert set up for him because he hasn't signed with a new team yet, and my Bears could sure use the help.)

Anyway - the thing that struck me in the article came in the comments section. Now, typically, I advise against reading the comments section on any news organization's site if you value a normal blood pressure (seriously - click any article on the Statesman's website and observe. Here's one at random, about the resignation of Evan Smith as editor of Texas Monthly, that quickly devolves into slinging insults at illegal immigrants), but I'm also interested in the way that people are perceived, especially people who've been charged with a crime.

This is the comment that stuck out to me:

Possession charges
Submitted by Temporary_S8nt on Fri. 7/17/2009 at 10:26 am
...dropped. How often does that happen to anyone else? Matt Jones, you're lucky on so many fronts--you idiot.

Tone aside (that's my future wide receiver you're calling an idiot!), I thought this was a pretty neat statement about the drug court and diversion system. This guy, Temporary_S8nt or whatever, assumed that receiving a chance to have charges dismissed in exchange for completing a diversion program was such a unique and extraordinary thing that it would be reserved exclusively for people like professional athletes. It's kind of nice to realize that systems like this, when they're used effectively, give ordinary folks the opportunities that we assume are the province of celebrities.

Labels: drug court, DWI Court, football, matt jones, pretrial diversion, texas monthly

posted by Dan   permalink   0 Comments